Way to go

Hostess Brands — the maker of such iconic baked goods as Twinkies, Drake’s Devil Dogs and Wonder Bread — announced Friday that it is asking a federal bankruptcy court for permission to close its operations, blaming a strike by bakers protesting a new contract imposed on them.

The closing will result in Hostess’ nearly 18,500 workers losing their jobs as the company shuts 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide, as well as 570 outlet stores. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union represents around 5,000 Hostess employees.

"We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," said CEO Gregory Rayburn in a statement

Actually, the only reason I mention this is it gives me a reason to post this:

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If you read into the detail, this is really about one union (the Teamsters surprisingly) acknowledging the reality that an 8% wage cut and reduced healthcare and pension benefits were better than being on welfare.

The bakers union didn’t, so with that dose of weltschmerz another company gets flushed and bakers and lorry drivers join the unemployment line. What is the point of a union if not to protect the jobs of its members.

Sadly the Bakers union boss will most likely get a rewarded – after he has stood by “the movement”.

The Teamsters Union supports Obama (as do all the unions now) but it has a “suspect” (i.e. nonsocialist) past – where corruption was supported more than “the cause”.

“Collective bargaining” is about collectivism (no surprise there – W.H. Hutt and “The Strike Threat System” explained how the whole principle of collective bargaining depends on government interventionism). In the 1930s the unions supported 25% unemployment (yes one person in four) rather than accept real reductions in wage rates.

I see no evidence that the people now in charge of American unions tend to be much different from the people in charge in the 1930s. If anything they are worse – as most American unions are now GOVERNMENT unions (local, State and Federal workers were not unionised back in the 1930s) and thus have no connection to reality.

“Of course you do not need to cut our wages – governments can not go bankrupt, you can just produce more money”.

The “government can not go bankrupt” (with the Feds subsidising State and local governments) is a line that is actually used. The government unions really expect unlimited subsidies from the Federal government for State and local governments – that is part of the reason they spent hundreds of millions of Dollars on reelecting Comrade Barack Obama.

And private factories?

The inner most truth is that SOME of the top people in the “union movement” WELCOME the closure of such private factories as the one this post refers to.

One more step on the road to an end to “the bosses” – the aim of both the Red Flag Marxist and the Black Flag “anarchists”.

It is older than Karl Marx – J.J. Rousseau also dreamed of an end to private employers (he was taught to by the Abbe de M.) all would together for the collective – and as all would also be part of the collective their wills would be its will. Thus total collectivism is total freedom.

Collectivism is freedom – this insane doctrine is at the heart of Rousseau’s position, and that of the leadersion of such American unions as the SEIU.

China has been through the first stage if industralisation, the one where workers moving from the land to the factory can caue wealth and productivity to explode, but the next stage, the one both Taiwan and Korea tackled in the 1980′s, requires intellectual and political liberalisation and there is no sign that China is willing to move in that direction. On top of that is the looming demographic disaster, not enough kids, and within that, not enough girls. Massive disruption as China gets old before it gets rich. Massive disruption as it faces up to the problem of a six to five imbalance of boys to girls, and how to deal with this problem.

One in six males won’t have a Han girl to marry. Big testosterone blowout, if nothing else. Gangs on the streets, and China will become a centre of immigration as millions of girls are imported from poorer countries in Asia, Africa and South America – with all the problems THAT will cause in a deeply racist society.

Counting Cats (CC) was taken to task by several other commenters for being too squeamish and perhaps even morally neutral about who are the good guys and who are the bad guys here. While I don't share CC's reaction to the video, I rejoice in his (her?) existence. What kind of a world would it be if people like CC didn't exist or if they had to hide their views? Who knows, we might all be living in something akin to Somalia.
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CC's civilized response is precisely why our military is a force for good in the world.